CORNWALL, Ontario – A young Cornwall hockey fan is having the time of his life in Ottawa meeting NHL players, getting access to a team dressing room and watching the morning skate.
Oh yah, Jonathan Ladouceur is also seeing the game tonight.
After reading his story last week at cornwallseawaynews.com, both the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks are ensuring young Jonathan is getting the red carpet treatment at today’s game at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Jonathan and his late father Brad, who died tragically in September at age 38 of a ruptured aorta, loved Canada’s game and when the younger of the hockey fanatics was presented with tickets to Thursday’s game he was over the moon.
But when the NHL teams got wind of his story, they took things up a notch – big time.
“(The Canucks) called us at almost the same time we became aware of the story,” Senators spokesperson Brian Morris said in a telephone conversation last week.
In addition to watching today’s Sens skate (which is closed to fans), Jonathan met with Ottawa stars Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone who provided autopgraphs and other goodies.
“Stone actually then took three of Jonathan’s hockey cards and left to head to the dressing room,” Morris told Seaway News. “Stone had the cards signed by Karlsson, Ryan and Andrew Hammond, then returned and gave them to Jonathan.”
Not bad for a team that’s not even Jonathan’s favourite. The Grade 8 CCVS student is a die-hard Canucks fan…so the Sens got him seats right beside the tunnel that leads to the Vancouver dressing room for Thursday’s game. He’s meeting with Canucks’ players after the game.
He had originally been given tickets by his school and a local busing company for the game.
“He’s on Cloud Nine,” said his Step mother Stephanie Larochelle.
“Our players really have a great understanding for important things like this and were incredibly giving with their time on a game day,” Morris said. “I know we all hope that these small items would help to make Jonathan’s day special.”
